Validity of jurisdiction clauses on bills of lading hard to gauge

Bills of lading are the most important documents in the carriage of goods by sea. Once the consignor ships the cargo and the carrier receives it or loads it on board, the carrier issues the bill of lading, which becomes evidence of the contractual relationship for the carriage of the goods.

Bills of lading – characteristics

A bill of lading will normally have two sides, with the front recording information on the parties, the cargo and the voyage, and the back setting out the carrier’s standard contract terms, which usually include a jurisdiction clause. The clauses relating to cargo loading and unloading, transport and delivery are directly linked to the contract for the carriage of goods that the bill of lading serves to evidence, while the jurisdiction clauses on the bill of lading are supplementary and separate.

The jurisdiction clauses on a bill of lading serve as the agreement on jurisdiction in the maritime domain. The way in which decisions about their effect are taken is fundamentally different from that of general agreements on jurisdiction.

Fu Benchao is a presiding judge in the fourth civil adjudication division of the Shandong Higher People’s Court. Yu Feng is a senior partner at Dacheng Law Offices.